Brantford, Ont. woman, charged again with falsely soliciting pregnancy support, back in court
Kaitlyn Braun, the Brantford, Ont. woman who previously admitted to deceiving doulas and is facing similar charges again, is not seeking bail at this time, her lawyer Alison Macdonald said Friday.
She has represented Braun in the past and told CTV News she has been retained again.
Hamilton Police announced on Wednesday that Braun, 25, had been arrested and is facing multiple criminal charges including obtaining by false pretence, harassing communications and alleged breach of a conditional sentence order.
They accuse Braun of falsely soliciting support, related to pregnancy and childbirth, between April 17 and April 18.
Braun appeared in court on Wednesday. Her case was briefly addressed in a Hamilton courtroom on Friday but Braun did not make an appearance.
Macdonald said having an alleged breach is distinguished from the new charges and there is some urgency to get it addressed.
Back in February, Braun was sentenced to two years of house arrest after pleading guilty to deceiving and defrauding multiple doulas, starting in June 2022.
She admitted to contacting numerous doulas, pretending to be pregnant, often claiming it was the result of a sexual assault.
The doulas supported Braun, some in person and others through the phone or over video chat.
In some cases, Braun pretended to go through a stillbirth, even sending the doula a photo of a stillborn baby.
Doulas told CTV Kitchener that their experiences with Braun left them emotionally distressed, mentally traumatized and hearing of her recent arrest on similar charges has been a setback in their efforts to heal.
Amy Silva, a London-based doula and one of Braun’s original victims, said they are supporting each other, but it’s been difficult.
“Today has been rough,” Silva told CTV News on Friday. “There has been a lot of feelings within our group, a lot of conversations taking place. Emotions are heated. Conversations are heated. It's a difficult place for all of us right now, and we're all at different places on our healing journey and growing from all of this, which makes being thrown back into this a little bit more difficult for everybody because we’re trying to navigate what to do and how to feel. And there's no manual on how to do that.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving “corrective action” for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account – and the life-changing moment was caught on video.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
Air travel is expensive. WestJet wants the government to do more to change that
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Dangerous brew: Ocean heat and La Nina combo likely mean more Atlantic hurricanes this summer
Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina.
U.S. senators write to Trudeau asking him to meet 2% GDP defence spending commitment
A bipartisan group of 23 U.S. senators have written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging his country to live up to its commitment to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence amid concerns that key members of the NATO alliance are not pulling their weight.
Potential tornado 'surreal' for residents who witnessed damaging storm in southern Ontario
Witnessing a potential tornado was 'surreal' for residents who caught a glimpse of the damaging storm in southern Ontario on Wednesday night.